Report: Seahawks QB Tarvaris Jackson is on the trading block

Tarvaris Jackson warms up before Saturday's preseason game against the Titans at CenturyLink Field. (Stephen Brashear/AP Photo)

Citing a “source with knowledge of the situation,” Pro Football Talk on Wednesday reported that the Seahawks are talking to “a couple of teams” about trading last year’s starting quarterback, but may wait until another team suffers a QB injury to potentially get a better deal.

If the report is accurate, it’s not that far-fetched and it’s not that surprising. Jackson has emerged as the trailing competitor in Seattle’s three-man battle for the starting quarterback job.

Matt Flynn has gotten the nod to start the first two preseason games, and the Seahawks are giving rookie Russell Wilson the chance to show his stuff in the second half. Meanwhile, Jackson didn’t play in last Saturday’s preseason victory against the Titans, likely won’t in this Saturday’s preseason game in Denver, and is getting just one day of work with the first-stringers during training camp.

“I’m banking on the 18 games we’ve seen (Jackson),” Carroll said Tuesday after Seahawks practice. “He knows the offense; he knows what is going on. And I watched him play last year practicing one day a week for five weeks, and he can function. So I’m using all of that information to allow us the opportunity to see all of the other guys.”

Asked Tuesday whether Jackson has said he wants to join another team, Carroll said, “We haven’t talked about that at all.”

That doesn’t mean GM John Schneider and the Seahawks aren’t thinking of trading him. And the fact Jackson didn’t play last Saturday, and likely won’t this Saturday, could suggest the Seahawks want to make sure he’s healthy for a trade.

Complicating matters is the fact that Jackson is due to earn a base salary of $4 million in 2012, a number that teams may not want to devote to the quarterback position.

Per the source, Jackson was never a serious contender to start in 2012. They called it an open competition after signing Matt Flynn, and they wisely gave Jackson the first crack with the first team, given that the incumbent has many friends and supporters in the locker room (including receiver Sidney Rice). As time has passed and Flynn has gotten acclimated, the Seahawks have faded Jackson toward the back of the pack.

“He’s holding well,” Carroll said of Jackson. “I think this is very difficult for him and I admire the heck out of this guy. These guys (Flynn and Wilson) are battling to show what they know and where they are, and we have to assess that they can catch up with him. That’s what’s going on. So he’ll have to hold on for a little bit longer, and we’ll know more in a week.”